The present invention relates to an ultrasonic contact lens cleaning device.
Contact lenses must be cleaned and sanitized on a daily or flexible extended wear schedule with special care in order to preserve the optical quality of the lenses and the good health of the wearer. In a recommended cleaning technique, the fingers and the palm of the hand are used to rub deposits from the lens, which thus may scratch or otherwise harm the surface of the lens.
Presently available devices for assisting in cleaning and disinfection of contact lenses include the mechanical agitation of baskets holding a pair of lenses in a cleaning solution manually or by electric motor. Another known device utilizes manual mechanical agitation combined with standing wave vibrations of the cleaning solution to provide for cleaning of the lenses. These devices are ineffective in removing some of the contact lens deposits including cosmetics and protein which adhere to the surface of the lenses. Other previous ultrasonic devices utilize a single piezoelectric crystal bonded to the bottom of one or more liquid holding containers, which produce a lateral resonance vibration mode. These devices also have been ineffective in removing contact lens deposits, as discussed.
The principal object of the invention is to provide an ultrasonic contact lens cleaning device of simple structure which is inexpensive in manufacture and operation.
An object of the invention is to provide an ultrasonic contact lens cleaning device which functions efficiently, effectively and reliably to clean and disinfect contact lenses.
Another object of the invention is to provide an ultrasonic contact lens cleaning device which is used with facility and convenience to thoroughly clean contact lenses with minimum handling and without optical degradation.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an ultrasonic contact lens cleaning device which is easy to use and does not scratch or harm any surface of the lenses cleaned.